Meryl Streep worked with Harvey Weinstein on a number of Hollywood blockbusters including The Iron Lady.
Meryl Streep worked with Harvey Weinstein on a number of Hollywood blockbusters including The Iron Lady.
Meryl Streep is among a growing number of celebrities who have slammed Harvey Weinstein's behaviour following claimsd he had sexually harassed a number of female employees for almost three decades.
The 68-year-old multi-award winner worked with the film mogul on a number of Hollywood blockbusters including The Iron Lady - which saw her hail him as "God" when she won the 2012 Best Actress Academy Award - and though she insists she never saw any evidence of any "abuse", she has praised the women who have come forward to speak about his alleged antics.
Weinstein, 65, was fired by the board of his firm The Weinstein Company, which he co-founded with his brother Bob Weinstein in 2005, "in light of new information about misconduct", following an expose in the New York Times newspaper.
Streep told The Huffington Post in a statement: "The disgraceful news about Harvey Weinstein has appalled those of us whose work he championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported.
"The intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse are our heroes. One thing can be clarified. Not everybody knew.
"Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally.
"I didn't know about these other offences: I did not know about his financial settlements with actresses and colleagues; I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom, or other inappropriate, coercive acts.
"And if everybody knew, I don't believe that all the investigate reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it.
"The behaviour is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar. Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game."
Streep's comment came after Weinstein was fired from The Weinstein Company with immediate effect.
Harvey Weinstein and Meryl Streep together in 2012. Photo/Getty
They said in a statement: "In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of The Weinstein Company - Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar - have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately."
Mark Ruffalo also slammed Weinstein for his "disgusting abuse of power".
The Spotlight actor hit out at the 65-year-old film producer on Twitter.
To be clear what Harvey Weinstein did was a disgusting abuse of power and horrible. I hope we are now seeing the beginning of the end of these abuses.
Others were more cynical about the "swift action" taken by the company and Lena Dunham slated the Weinstein Company saying they "always always knew" about the accusations.
Easy to think Weinstein company took swift action but this has actually been the slowest action because they always always knew
Their comments came after The Weinstein Company released a statement in response to the newspaper article, which was published earlier this month and alleged he had harassed at least eight female employees over a 30-year time span.
The statement said: "In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of The Weinstein Company - Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar - have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately."
Weinstein's firing came just days after he admitted to behaving inappropriately with some of his female colleagues in the past and apologised for causing them "pain".
However, the Hollywood powerhouse denied the claims published by the New York Times and vowed to take legal action.
But Weinstein was struck yet another blow over the weekend when his lawyer Lisa Bloom announced her decision to step down as his legal advisor.
Others have also spoken out on Twitter.
Yes. Im sick of the media demanding only women speak up. What about the men? Perhaps many are afraid to look at their own behavior..... https://t.co/tGUsjUYNMR
There is no excuse for monsters like Harvey Weinstein. It's up to all of us, men and women, to speak up against sexual harassment and abuse. https://t.co/Ec0msl2btR
